NSW Police Force and Transport for NSW are urging motorists to slow down, plan ahead and drive to the conditions as thousands of families prepare to hit the road for the spring school holidays.
Chief Inspector with Hunter Valley and Newcastle Area Highway Patrol, Tom Barnes, said school holidays presented an opportunity for families to relax and travel, but came with increased risk.
“School holidays present an opportunity for families and people to relax and have a good time and travel, be it in the local area or further afield. But obviously with that comes risks, increased fatigue, increased numbers of people on the roads,” Barnes said.
Inspector Barnes said police were particularly concerned about school leavers finishing the year, with formals and end-of-year celebrations often coinciding with an increase in dangerous and negligent driving.
“We just want to let those people know and their parents know that it’s important that they make it through to the end of the year and everything else that comes with finishing school and moving on with the rest of your life,” he said.
So far this year, 253 people have lost their lives on NSW roads, eight more than the same period last year.
Inspector Barnes said the toll on the Hunter had also been significant.
“It has been another tragic year on roads across the Hunter Valley as well. There’s been some recent improvements but regardless the loss of any life is tragic and we don’t want to stop until we bring that number down to zero,” he said.
“Anybody that knows someone that’s lost someone as a result of road trauma will attest it’s a feeling and an emptiness that does not go away. Ever.”
He also warned that familiarity with country roads could be a factor in serious crashes.
“People assume that because they’ve been around a corner thousands of times that the circumstances will be exactly the same the next time, and sometimes that’s not the case, be it wildlife, be it another broken down vehicle, be it some change in the road conditions, a pothole or something like that,” Barnes said.
“That’s often what we see as a causal factor in serious injury and fatal crashes on country roads involving country people.”
